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Saudi Arabian messaging app soars to top of App Store

Markus Schreiber / AP

There's a hot new anonymous messaging app on the block: Sarahah ("honesty" in Arabic). The app, created by Saudi Arabia-based developer Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq, has been booming in the App Store recently, becoming the No. 1 most downloaded app in 25 countries last week, according to App Annie.

Sarahah has achieved this without any outside funding, in part thanks to free app hosting from Microsoft.

The age-old anonymous problem: Not surprisingly, Sarahah, which began as a tool for employees to anonymously send feedback to their bosses, is already facing the troubles that similar apps have faced before it: combating trolls and bullies. It already has a couple of tools to block and flag abusive messages and Tawfiq is well-aware that it will be one of the app's biggest challenges.